Parallel Existence
by chiharu-tanaka
Summary: When Tsunemori Akane falls into a frozen lake while chasing after Kougami Shinya, she finds herself trapped in the Edo period. When a sinister assassination plot against the Shogun unravels, it's up to Akane to solve the mystery of both the murder attempt and the intricate feelings in her heart. [Shinkane] [AU] [Rework in progress with alternate title & plot]


**PARALLEL EXISTENCE**

A Psycho-Pass fanfic

By Chiharu Tanaka

xxxxx

 _Notes: Spoilers for both Seasons 1 and 2, as well as the movie are in this fanfiction. You have been warned._

xxxxx

Inspector Tsunemori Akane had no time to stop and admire the falling snowflakes. Her prey was getting away.

A shock reverberated through her legs from the bottom up as she landed onto the rusted steel platform from another platform 3 meters above. The grip of her boots served her well, or else she may have slipped and hit her head. And her prey would escape from her grasp. She continued racing through the abandoned factory construction site, with only the lights being the moon over her head and the eerie turquoise glow of the Dominator in her hands. Her steps were as light as her body, but with her mouth dry, heart racing and body aching - screaming for her to stop - she may have just been an elephant in a stampede.

She couldn't let him go. Not now, not when she had finally seen him again.

Her calves were burning when she finally stopped, back leaning against an open doorway, sweating under layers of clothing. The gentle hum of a small remote drone whirred as it moved next to her - the remote that enabled her to use the Dominator in the outer regions of east Tokyo, near the Chiba Prefecture.

Her breaths came in gasps of wafting mists, as she wondered about her two Enforcers. Kunizuka and Ginoza were probably ten minutes behind her. Not because they were slower than her, but because she was - just this once - quicker and more determined than both of them. She had outrun them as her deceptive prey outmanoeuvred the other two.

She peered around the corner and spotted her target outside the factory, moving towards the barren, snow covered field. Moving out of her spot, she leapt down the stairs and ran towards him. Even as the snow was 2 feet thick, she pressed on, ignoring the ache. The snow thinned into a smooth surface as they both reached a standstill once she had him at gunpoint, 5 metres away.

She held up her Dominator, pointing at his back, her hands trembling. Her eyes glowed the same turquoise colour as the Dominator assisted her in identifying him.

 _"Kougami Shinya. Former Enforcer. Crime Coefficient: 480. Mode: Lethal Eliminator. Please aim at your target carefully."_

The female computerised voice belonging to the Sibyl System echoed in her head as her Dominator, once an ordinary scanning device shaped like a gun, morphed into a malicious weapon with turquoise lights blinking at its sides.

"Kougami Shinya!" She yelled as the winter wind whipped around them, chilling her to the bone. "You're under arrest!"

He placed his turned around, and she could feel her heart shattering to pieces as he finally faced her. How long has it been since she last saw him? Three, maybe four months? He was battered and bruised when she last saw him, on the rooftop of the SEAun system building. But in his absence, time stretched on like years. His cheeks were hollow - one thing he couldn't hide from his years of being on the run.

"We have to stop meeting like this, Inspector."

There was no grin at the end of his sentence. Not like before, when there was a sparkle in his eyes when she pointed the handgun at him in the catacombs beneath the Shambala Float.

"Kougami-san..."

"Save your breath. I'm not going back to Tokyo. I won't return to that damned system."

He was right. He was a criminal, after all. Not a latent criminal with a high risk of committing a crime. He blew a bullet right through another man's head, miles away from the jurisdiction of the omniscient Sibyl System. And the system wanted him dead, preferably in cold blood.

Even if he did it for justice; to punish a man who was deemed unpunishable in the system.

Because of that, she had lost him, forever. He could never return; not even if she had bargained with the System. They both knew it.

"It's either you shoot me now, Tsunemori; or you let me walk away."

Her trembling grew erratic, and it wasn't from the cold.

Why did this have to happen?

All she wanted was that weight of his hand on top of her head, that comforting presence as they crack down on cases together as two detectives in the MWPSB, rather than Inspector and Enforcer.

All she wanted was to spar with him, to show him how good at fighting she had become; how she had taken up silat lessons and was enjoying it.

All she wanted was to stop wasting her money on Spinel cigarettes, lighting them up for the sole purpose of imbuing his scent in her room. Instead, in this cold lonely night, she wanted to wrap her arms around him and wonder if he still did smell of tobacco and spice.

 _CRACK_

The thin ice beneath her gave way, plunging her into the freezing waters below. As her head bobbed in and out of the surface with her arms flailing about, she heard him scream.

"Akane!"

Like a hand of a demon, a force grasped at her ankles and pulled her deeper. She sank, down, deeper into the darkness as her eyes caught the last of the light of the moon above. Did Kougami jump in after her? Did he get to safety? Would Kunizuka and Ginoza find her in time? Or would she be a dead body making headlines on tomorrow's news?

Was Kougami going to be alright?

The numbness spread through her body like thorns wrapping around her. Breathing became painful without air.

She closed her eyes as the glow of the Dominator faded, and she succumbed into death's arms.

xxxxx

Birds were chirping.

Not crows, like those outside of her apartment that cawed and were the size of domestic cats. These were lively birds, like sparrows in the garden complexes of metropolitan Tokyo.

Akane opened her eyes to find a plain ceiling above her. There were no fluorescent lamps, no beeping of machines, no intravenous drips dangling from her arms like snakes. Her head felt like dead weight, and it took all her strength to sit upright.

Her eyes, heavy and groggy, adjusted to the dim light of the room. She was not at a hospital. Instead, she was in a traditional Japanese home. The interior hologram was impressive, as her eyes widened. There was a shoji door on the left, and to her right was an ornate dresser made out mahogany, and a vase of camellias neatly arranged sat on top of a low table. In front of her was folding screen with the painting of red roses, trimmed with gold-ended leaves.

She looked down and saw the lower half of her body covered in a thick white blanket. She was sitting on a futon. 'Perhaps the owner of this apartment preferred futons over beds,' she thought.

Akane heard light, padded footsteps from beyond the shoji door, and as she turned her head, the door slid open to reveal a girl - possibly in her late teens, dressed in a pastel pink-coloured kimono with a tray in her hand. She almost dropped it upon seeing Akane.

"Hime-sama! You're awake!"

Akane's eyes were widened now, almost to the point of popping out of their sockets. "Excuse me?"

"Are you feeling alright? Does your head still hurt? I brought you your medicine, as instructed by the doctor…"

Akane lifted her hand and touched her forehead. Sure enough, there were bandages wrapped around her head. But something else was not quite right, as she spotted locks of long dark brown hair falling behind her left shoulder. She touched it and pulled them into her hands. They were silky and smooth - and not hers.

The last time she recalled, her hair had always been cropped short. Ever since she started high school.

"Hime-sama?"

She looked at the girl, who had peered at her with drawn eyebrows. Akane quickly stood up and moved towards the dresser. A mirror - she needed a mirror!

As she touched the wall while looking for a mirror in the shelves, she took a step back. It wasn't an interior hologram at all. The pink-clad girl had stood up and approached her. "Are you looking for something?"

"A mirror."

"Mirror? Please wait, hime-sama."

She reached into the second dresser drawer and pulled out an ornate hand mirror, before handing it to Akane. Akane accepted the antique mirror with trembling hands, and sighed in relief upon seeing her own reflection. It was her same large brown eyes, although there were no dark circles beneath them. Her cheeks, although pale, were fuller. She looked years younger - had being an Inspector made her look so old?

She was in her own body - albeit with waist length hair - and not in some bizarre virtual reality simulation. Or maybe she was in one - she had delved into the worlds of Avatars and even had her own painful memories extracted before.

The mirror fell from her hands in a crash as the glass surface fell onto the low table. "Hime-sama, please be careful," said the girl, but as she knelt to pick up the pieces, Akane proceeded to do the same.

Her fingertips - delicate, unlike her callused palms from years of martial arts practice - bled droplets of crimson as she picked up a piece. "Akahime-sama!" the girl shouted, holding Akane's wrist and glaring at her like a teacher would while scolding a young student; even though this girl was years younger than her. She took out a handkerchief from her sleeves and pressed it against the wound. "Hime-sama, I will pick these up. Don't touch them," said the girl, exasperated.

"What...did you call me?"

The girl blinked a few times in disbelief. "A…Akahime-sama. Are you really alright?"

Akane stood up, almost like in a daze. This had to be virtual reality. It had to be. Even with her fingertips throbbing. Maybe modern medicine had found a way to simulate realities into comatose patients to keep the Hue from clouding. Yes, that had to be it. She was comatose, and part of this experimental treatment - because she knew how important her mental Hue was to the Sibyl System.

If that was the case, she needed to let them know she was ready to wake up.

She ran out of the doors, into the cold early Spring morning. Servants bowed to her despite her erratic behaviour as she left the servant girl in pink screaming behind her.

Akane reached a stairway where she had just slipped into a pair of geta slippers when she heard a loud, echoing yell from across the courtyard.

"AKAHIME-SAMA!"

She stopped, and just as she turned around a woman clad in a dark green kimono with her greying hair pinned elegantly into a bun came rushing towards her. The expression on her face reminded her of Chief Kasei when she was pissed off. Her wrinkled brows were furrowed and she was red in the ears. "Akahime-sama, return to your rooms this instant!"

Akane glared back at her. "No! I know I'm in a VR simulation! I want to wake up!"

"What nonsense are you spouting, child?! Get back inside!" the middle aged lady shouted as she grabbed both Akane's hands and pulled her back inside with the strength of an ox. "You're dressed in your sleepwear, for goodness sake!"

Akane looked down - she was only wearing a layer of thick white robes.

"Tae-san, I'm so sorry!" the pink-clad servant said as she hurried towards them and bowed in front of both of them. "I had no idea Akahime-sama would run outside…"

"I should have you punished!" Tae said in disdain. "Why, if Akahime-sama suffered another injury, or worse yet, get a fever in this cold weather - Naoshige-sama would have both our heads!"

The girl did not lift her head, but her shoulders trembled as she held back a sob. Akane looked at the floor. Were VR simulations always this detailed? Weren't they usually user-controlled, like in a lucid dream? Were the Artificial Intelligence of the non-playable characters always this real?

"Look…I…over-reacted. I don't remember things because of this…injury. I'm a little confused," Akane finally said, pitying the girl beside her.

Tae sighed, and in that moment her eyes - with crows feet at the edges - reminded her of her late Granny Tsunemori. "You poor child. Come, let's get you back to your room."

Akane obediently followed them back to the room after Tae threw her dark coat over Akane's shoulders to keep her warm. She sat down on the futon, as the two servants looked at her.

"Do you remember her name?" asked Tae, pointing to the servant girl.

Akane shook her head. "I'm afraid this is the first time I've met her."

The two women looked at each other with mirrored expressions of worry. "Umeko, take care of her. I will go fetch Lord Naoshige and the doctor," said Tae, before standing up and leaving the room.

"So…your name is Umeko, huh? I'm sorry for causing all that trouble."

Umeko shook her head. "Not at all, hime-sama. I'm sorry I fail to realise that you were not well. Even your manner of speech is strange."

She fell into a daze; staring outside into the gardens outside her room. The maple tree had not even sprouted its leaves, and a thin patch of grass covered the ground. The air was so clean and crisp; the coolness tingling against her skin. It reminded her of her last holiday to Hokkaido - with her two best friends. Umeko gently combed through her hair after tending to her cut finger, and pulled her long hair back into a neat braid, before pinning it with a few hair clips in the shape of red blossoms.

'This simulation is too detailed…but I shouldn't have bled if I was in one. What happened to me? I fell into the lake, and then...'

"Aka!"

Akane's head shot up as Umeko left her side and stood up to bow at the middle-aged man who entered the room. He had salt-and-pepper hair pulled back into a small hat, a prominent nose and pointed goatee. He knelt in front of her and held her shoulders with a firm grip. She figured, this must be Lord Naoshige, from the elegant robes he was dressed in.

"I'm sorry, sir, are you Lord Naoshige?" Akane asked.

The man looked like she had just kicked him in the teeth. "Aka, what are you saying? Of course I am, I'm your father!"

Akane wanted to slap her forehead, had it not been throbbing so hard. If she was the hime of this rendition of an ancient Japanese clan, then of course the Lord had to be her father. "I'm sorry, father. I'm not feeling well."

He patted her on the head and stroked her hair. "It's alright, my daughter. I was just worried about you. The doctor said you hit your head quite badly when you fell into that lake."

"Lake?"

"Seems like you don't remember much, hime-sama," another voice said, this time belonging to an old man with small beady eyes behind a pair of spectacles, approaching both of them from behind.

"Who are you?" Akane asked.

"I am the family doctor Yamada, hime-sama. Do you really not remember me? I've tended to your illnesses since you were but a baby."

She felt a squeeze on her heart. The old man looked at her, barely blinking as he waited for her reply. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember."

'Because I've never met any of you.' Akane finished in her thoughts.

"Have you faced an affliction such as this, Yamada?" Lord Naoshige asked, turning to the old man.

"Yes, once or twice. It commonly happens to people who have injuries to their head. We must let her rest, and once her physical form has recovered, we must endeavour to restore her memory."

"Alright," Lord Naoshige said, nodding. "Alright. I'm counting on you."

"Leave it to me, milord."

Dr. Yamada did a quick examination on her after Lord Naoshige left to resume his duties - inspecting her bruised forehead and asking her a few more questions, before leaving several pouches of herbs and vials of tonics to Umeko. He instructed Umeko carefully on the dosages, and Akane picked up one pouch while they were engrossed in conversation. Her nose crinkled at the pungent smell of the fermented herbs.

After the aged doctor bid her farewell, Umeko suggested that they go for a walk. Akane remained silent as the cheerful Umeko continued to chat, despite the former's morbid curiosity. "What would you like me to tell you, hime-sama?" she asked as they stood in the gardens outside her room.

"Everything," Akane said as they started walking. "As much as you can tell me. Can you start with who I am, and what year this is?"

Umeko's eyebrows furrowed. "Alright. Your name is Akahime of the Ii clan, and this is the 3rd month of the 10th year of the Keicho era."

"Keicho era…?" she mumbled. 'That means, it's March in the year…1605? Isn't that the year the first Shogun of the Edo period, Tokugawa Ieyasu, handed his throne to his son?' "So the Shogun…"

"Lord Tokugawa Ieyasu? Yes, he is still the Shogun, but I have heard rumours of him stepping down to give the position to his son, Lord Hidetada."

'It's a good thing I scored well for History classes. Who's idea was it to place me in a historical simulation?'

"So I'm a daughter of the Ii clan?"

"Yes. In fact, you are Lord Naoshige's only child. The next in line is Lord Naohiko - Lord Naoshige's younger brother."

"I…see. What about my mother?"

"Lady Kiku? I heard from Tae-san that she passed away shortly after childbirth. Lord Naoshige was devastated, and he never took another wife. It's so sad, but at the same time, his devotion to your late mother is heart-warming. I hope you will be wed to an honourable man such as he."

Akane's eyebrows furrowed. She didn't press further, and they moved from the gardens and into the courtyard - the same one she had almost ran across in her robes earlier. "Ah," Umeko said as a group of men on horseback approached them. The one on the front-most stallion was a young man in his twenties, looking down at them with a relieved smile. He dismounted and approached the two ladies, his eyes fixated on Akane.

He was a tall man, with high cheekbones and jet-black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Akane had to admit, he was rather good-looking, as she realised at the female servants had gathered around the courtyard to look at him; dreamy smiles across their faces. Even Umeko's cheeks were as pink as her kimono. "Akahime," he said, standing in front of her. "How are you feeling? I heard you had injured yourself at the lake yesterday evening."

"I'm fine. Umm…what brings you here?"

He chuckled, dimples appearing on his cheeks. "To see you, silly. You are my fiancée, after all."

Akane felt the colour drain from her face. "Your WHAT?!"

"Akahime-sama!" Umeko said hurriedly, latching onto her arm. "Pardon me for overstepping my bounds, Lord Teruyuki; Akahime-sama has lost her memories as a result of her injury…"

"Lost her…" he began, but stepped forward and clasped her clammy hands in his. "Akahime, is this true?"

Akane's eyes twitched as the ladies around her suddenly screamed in unison at his daring gesture. Umeko's blush darkened to the shade of Akane's crimson kimono. 'You have got to be kidding me. Am I in a bad 2010s television drama?' her mind screamed. "Yes," was all she could answer.

"In that case, you should be resting; not gallivanting about. I'm very glad to see you awake, but please return to your room."

Akane paused and looked at him. She could see herself reflected in his dark eyes and she had to muster all of her strength in an attempt to smile. 'Someone had fun creating this simulation, that's for sure. This man is too good to be true.'

"Okay."

He paused as well, looking at her for a second too long. His smile dropped, before releasing her hands and turned around as another man walked towards them, carrying a stack of books and scrolls in his arms, firm bandages wound around his right arm and forehead. Teruyuki waved at him.

Akane peered around his shoulder and gasped upon seeing him - with familiar fierce dark eyes and dishevelled black hair. His eyes widened upon seeing her, lips parted slightly. The words flew from her mouth before she could stop herself.

"Kougami-san?!"

xxxxx

 _Did you enjoy the story? This is just a silly fanfic idea of mine while listening to Little Mix's "Secret Love Song". If you watch a lot of Korean dramas, you'll realise this is heavily inspired by the drama 'Scarlet Heart Ryeo' (although I've only watched the first episode). If you like it, leave me a review!_

 _Note: I will use Japanese honorifics like -sama, -chan, -san, etc, and Japanese terms for Japanese-specific items like sushi, shoji, katana, kimono, etc. However I won't be replacing terms with an English equivalent like "Father" with "chichiue". An exception is hime, which means princess, but because the princess depicted here isn't an actual royal princess, but more in the likes of "Lady", I will keep this word and use it as an honorific as well. And I will not italicise these foreign words because I'm lazy. Ha._

 _Note 2: This fanfic is supposed to be taken very lightly. The men won't all be having their odd 'bald spot' hairdos. The actual daimyo of the Ii clan during the time period Akane landed herself in is Naotsugu, but because I prefer not to further butcher historical figures, I made Naoshige up. I'll try to be as accurate to history as possible, but once again, this is a fanfic. Just enjoy it._

 _Note 3: I decided to name her "Akahime" a.k.a. Red Princess, because Aka is part of her name, and I just like imagining a long-haired Akane in a red kimono._

 _Also updates will be erratic because of my 7-day a week job, but I'll strive to get one chapter out per week so I can get this idea out of my system quickly._

 _\- Chiharu_


End file.
